Anyhoo, I'm so glad that Jenn from grimmricksen agreed to take over the blog for me today. She's a blogger like no other, loves books, shares my feminist ideals and looks smashing with red hair. What more could you ask for in a blog buddy? And wait til you see what she's got in store for you!
Hello there lovely
G&M readers (I'm assuming you're lovely, so don't let me down)!
My parents named me
Jennifer, just like most of the other parents in the 70's and 80's, but you can
call me Jen, Jenn, Jenny, Sarah (not in any way my name, but something that
many of my Utah friends insist on calling me -- long story). I'm kind of in
charge of the grimmricksen blog, as well as a blog
about my kid (where the only visitors are probably my parents, understandably),
and an Etsy shop where I sell my feminist
propaganda, wood jewelry, and whatever else I'm keen on making at the moment.
If you're anything like me,
you probably fancy yourself at least moderately crafty and a wee bit cheap. And
maybe, just maybe, you like to decorate for the holidays... or at least the
awesome ones toward the end of the year. If this sounds like you, then I have
the perfect craft for you: painted (fake) pumpkins! Obviously you can paint
real pumpkins, but you can't exactly reuse it next year, which kind of
undermines the whole thrifty aspect, but go with your gut.
The supplies are
simple:
- Pumpkin
- Paint colors of your
choice
- A cut-out of a
diamond
- a sharpie or paint
pen
- Paint brushes (both tiny
& large)
- Sealer
First things first: Paint
your pumpkin... the whole thing. Cover that bad boy in your base color (I went
with basic white). You can use spray paint or hand paint it on with a big brush.
Let it dry. Honestly, I never have great luck with spray painting any of my
projects, so I tend to just hand paint everything.
Now take that fancy little
diamond you cut out and trace it all the way around your pumpkin. You can use a
pen, marker whatever, it'll most likely end up covered up by the end of it all.
I can almost guarantee that you'll end up with too much or too little space
when it comes to that last diamond -- just go with it, make it work
however.
Next, go ahead and fill in
all those diamonds with your paint color of choice. If you plan on outlining
your diamonds, there's no real need to keep your lines absolutely perfect, but
if you don't feel like lining them, keep your lines nice and clean. I wish I
hadn't outlined this fella, if I'm being honest. Oh well. Let it dry.
You're getting close to the
end, so now it's time to bust out that Sharpie, paint pen, or tiny paint brush
and get to work making those dashes that make it a fancy schmancy argyle
pattern. There's no special trick to it, just make dotted lines going through
the center of each diamond... essentially big X's.
The final (optional, but
recommended) step: seal it. Take your pumpkin outside into a well ventilated
area and spray it with a nice even layer of clear sealer... satin, semi-gloss,
gloss... whatever look you're going for. Let it dry outside or in the garage if
possible (I wouldn't want you to get stoned of the fumes).
Aaaaannnnddd you're done!
Give yourself a high-five or maybe a pat on the back or a big glass of wine (or
all three, eh?) and sit back and enjoy your fancy new holiday decoration.
See? I told you that she had something special for you! I would leave these up all year round in order to show off my mad painting skills. And because sometimes I'm lazy like that.
Thanks again Jenn! Maybe you'll stop back by and share another holiday DIY in December? We'd love to have you around again.
Until then, I suggest that everyone go visit Jenn's blog and see her excellent crafty skill and say 'hi'...
